Oral Answers to Questions — Prisoners of War – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 June 1947.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
12:00,
10 June 1947
asked the Secretary of State for War whether arrangements have now been made to place German prisoners captured in the Channel Islands in their right category for repatriation, in accordance with the promise made in July, 1944, to the prisoners of war by the right hon. Member for Woodford (Mr. Churchill).
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
The Germans in the Channel Islands after July, 1944, were in the position of a beleaguered garrison; they did not surrender until the final capitulation of the German armed forces, and cannot be regarded as prisoners, of war until they actually came under British control. They are, therefore, correctly placed in the same group for repatriation as others captured during May, 1945.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
Has my right hon. Friend studied the wireless declaration of the right hon. Member for Woodford? Because in that declaration he made the position perfectly clear, and if my right hon. Friend carries out what he intended all these people would be in category 19 instead of 29.
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
No, Sir, I have not personally studied in detail the speeches of the right hon. Member for Woodford' (Mr. Churchill)—
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
That was the promise.
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
We have made an exhaustive search in the War Office to trace what the right hon. Gentleman did say in this connection, but it does not confirm what my hon. Friend has said.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind that while the right hon. Gentleman was Minister of Defence he was not Secretary of State for War; that the declaration was made over the wireless; and that my right hon. Friend will find the record not in the War Office, but in the B.B.C.?
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
Well, we cannot find the record anywhere, not even with the right hon. Member himself.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
I will send it to my right hon. Friend.
Mr Tom Driberg
, Maldon
Has my right hon. Friend asked the B.B.C. for the record? Because it is generally known among these prisoners that there was some such promise, which they claim has been dishonoured.
Mr Tom Driberg
, Maldon
Ask the B.B.C.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
